Do I really need a hand electric mixer?

Thanks, Peter. After the advice I got 11 months ago, I opted not to get the hand mixer. And I've never once missed it. If the project's not worth lugging out the Kitchenaid or not suitable for the immersion blender, I don't mind just using a spoon or a whisk.

An old conversation but I'll chime in -- between my stand mixer and my immersion blender with whisk attachment, I don't think I've used the hand mixer more than 3 times in the last 3 years... and no doubt I could have skipped it those 3 times.

I think it depends on what and how you cook and bake and where your stand mixer lives. I generally cook for just two and prefer to knead yeast breads by hand and make quick breads with a whisk or spoon. For the relatively rare occasions when I need to cream butter and sugar or whip cream or beat egg whites, I find it easier to do it with a hand mixer. It might take a couple more minutes, but I find it easier than dragging out the Kitchenaid, cleaning it afterward (a task I seriously dislike), and putting it back. I probably use the hand mixer ten times for every time I use the stand mixer, though if I were regularly doing large-batch baking the ratio would be different.

My hand mixer is great for making 7-Minute icing (Maida Heatter's Fluffy White Icing). You have to beat the ingredients in a double-boiler at the stove for 6-7 minutes.
That's all I ever use the hand mixer for, but when you need it, you need it.

It's easy to be ambivalent about hand mixers. I have the whole arsenal too and I use the mixer about as often as I use the stick blender, which is to say, not very often.

If you're not one to keep the Kitchenaid on your counter at all times, I think the hand mixer is useful for short, small projects, when you don;t fee like having to lug out and put away the Kitchenaid.

I love owning both. The stand mixer is the (baking) workhorse in my kitchen, but I had this dilemma 2 years ago and bought the hand mixer against my sister's advice. :) I have never regretted it--I seem to need to whip cream and egg whites a lot, and there are some times when I use the regular beaters too, for simple doughs with melted butter or oil. It probably mostly comes down to how much you bake.

I gave my hand mixer away to my daughter when she left for college a long time ago. For a gift we purchased a KitchenAid stand mixer for her. She then gave away the hand mixer to someone else. Not once have either one of us said "I wish I had a hand mixer - where is it?"

I have both and honestly, use the hand mixer only occasionally. The Kitchen Aid Mixer is the true star of my kitchen.

I've had a kitchenaid stand mixer for a long time. Last year, I got a Viking hand mixer (thank you foodpickle!) and have to admit I just used it for the first time the other day when making the chocolate mint souffle cupcakes, where you had to beat a few different ingredients in different bowls. It's pretty powerful, worked great, and I really loved it. But will I use it again?? Probably, for beating egg whites and whipped cream and stuff.